Analysis of Inclusive Education Practices

in Colombia

Ministerio de Educación Nacional Dirección de Poblaciones y Proyectos Intersectoriales

República de Colombia

Analysis of Inclusive Education in Colombia

Project Title:Analysis of Inclusive Education practices for children and youth with disabilities in the public school system in Colombia.

Project Partners:• Colombian Ministry of Education (Project MEN 03-04)

• Inclusion International• Corporación Síndrome de Down

 

Ministerio de Educación Nacional

Inclusive Education in Colombia Project Summary

Collaborating with the Colombian Ministry of Education, the project involves:

• Developing a set of substantive indicators for measuring the state of inclusive education in Colombia.

• Comparing the research results to existing best practices, and allowed participating schools to review their practice against their fellow schools in Colombia.

• Consulting the Ministry of Education in policies for developing inclusive education in the country.

Project Objectives

• Analysis of inclusive educational practices for children and adolescents with disability in 55 schools within the public educational system in Colombia.

• Design and apply a survey in accordance with best practices in inclusive education adjusted to Colombia’s public policies, laws, social and economical situation

• Assist the Ministry of Education in generating minimum standards, based on evidence, around inclusive education practices in Colombia

• Assist the Ministry of Education in establishing strategies that will support the adoption and implementation of standards for inclusive practices and the certification of professionals who deliver services in this area.

Project Initiatives • Conceptualize and define Inclusive Education • Define Philosophy and Principles around Inclusive

Education • Define Implications of Inclusive Education• Define how and what to measure in inclusive schools• Create a tool to measure Inclusion• Test and obtain feedback with experts in the country• Analyze the information and research obtained• Work closely with Ministry of Education to present results

and consult for future policy development

Process for Developing Tool;“Indicators of Best Practices”

• Define Inclusion• Draw on the framework proposed by CSIE Index of

Inclusion as a resource• Research around best practices and test practical use of

tool• Determine the implications on culture, policy and

educational practices• Define Indicators based on

– Children with disability– Colombia's policy and laws– Inclusion as a process– Colombia's strengths and opportunities– Information provided by local experiences, to reflect local

knowledge

Dimensions of Indicators Tool *

* Dimensions modeled from CSIE Index for Inclusion

1. Creating INCLUSIVE CULTURES

» Building Community» Establishing Inclusive values

2. Producing INCLUSIVE POLICIES» Developing a school for all» Organizing support for diversity

3. Evolving INCLUSIVE PRACTICES» Orchestrating learning» Mobilizing Resources

Dimensions of Indicator Tool1. Creating INCLUSIVE CULTURES:

• ¨Is about creating a secure, accepting, collaborating, stimulating community in which everyone is valued,

as the foundation for the highest achievements of all students.

• It is concerned with developing inclusive values, shared between all staff, students, governors and parents/carers that are conveyed to all new members of the school

• The principles, derived within inclusive schools cultures guide decisions about policies and moment to moment practice so that learning of all is supported through a

continuous process of school development.¨

2. Producing INCLUSIVE POLICIES

• ¨Is about securing inclusion at the heart of school development, permeating all policies, so that they increase the learning and participation of all students.

• Support is considered as those activities which increase the capacity of a school to respond to student diversity.

• All forms of support are brought together within a single frame work and are viewed from the perspective of students and their development rather than school or local education authority administrative structures.¨

Dimensions of Indicator Tool

3. Evolving INCLUSIVE PRACTICES

• ¨Is about making school practices reflect the inclusive cultures and policies of the school.

• It is concerned with ensuring that classroom and extra-curricular activities encourage the participation of all students and draw on their knowledge and experience outside school.

• Teaching and support are integrated together in the orchestration of learning and the overcoming of barriers to learning and participation. Staff mobilize resources within the school and local communities to sustain active learning for all.¨

Dimensions of Indicator Tool

Project Deliverables • Define and characterize what a proposal for inclusive education for

children with disability should look like

• Design and apply a survey in accordance with best practices in inclusive education adjusted to Colombia’s public policies, laws, social and economical situation.

• The information obtained will provide the Ministry of Education with:– A survey of ¨ Indicators of Best Practice in Inclusive Education ¨– Standardized information of what is being implemented in the

diverse schools in the country in regard to inclusive educational programs for students with disability.

– A tool that will help measure and qualify good practices around inclusive education in the school system.

– Information based in good practices and evidence, to establish minimum standards for inclusive education practices

– Information to identify the requirements to support the development of evidence-based inclusive education practices in the country

Project Deliverables

An integrated Website that provides:

– Conceptualization of disability, inclusive education and educational options for students with disability

– Information about the development of the tool “Indicators of Best Practice in Inclusive Education”

– Information and explanations about the selected indicators as best practices of inclusive education and resources of additional information

– Means for educational institutions to take the survey and compare their practice with an ideal model and with other institutions in the country

Colombia

San Andres y Providencia

National Statistics

INDICATOR VALUE

Population (in million) 43.0

Gross national income ($billion) 82.3

GNI per capita ($) 1910.0

Total fertility rate (births per woman) 2.6

Life expectancy at birth (years) 71.4

Aid (% of GNI) 0.5

External debt (% of GNI) 46.4

% of Population that lives in Urban Area 73

% of Urban Population with Clean water 95.4

% of Rural Population with access to clean water 44.2

National Statistics

Demographics: Age 0-14 Percentage of Population 32% Age 15-75 Percentage of Population 63% Age 65 + Percentage of Population 5% Ethnic Diversity: Mestizo Percentage of Population 58% Caucasian Percentage of Population 20% Mulatto Percentage of Population 14% African American Percentage of Population 4% African Amerindian Percentage of Population 3% Amerindian Percentage of Population 1%

Weaknesses and Threats

• Unemployment rate approximately 16%• Government priorities are consumed in Social

Challenges:– High levels of Poverty. Malnutrition, Mortality,

Morbidity, Abuse, Neglect, Abandonment – Issues of Conflict and Security. Guerrillas, Drug

problems, internal migration– Provision for Basic Services is low. Issues of

Housing, Health, and Education• Disability is not a priority. • Little in economical, technical or human supports and

services for families and people with disabilities

Analysis

Strengths and Opportunities

• Family Structure is Fundamental• Current Legislation is an opportunity• Primary education for general population reached

88,7 % of children (1999)• Lack of financial resources forces Ministry to

operate efficiency and effectiveness in service provision

• Need for improvement and international cooperation in the Education system has been identified and recognized by the Ministry

Analysis of Public Education System

Disability Issues in Colombia

• 12% to 18% of the population has a disability• 50% of the people with disability are under 18 • As much as 1/3 of Colombian families have a member

with a disability• Many mothers are young, single-parents• Only 14.5% of children with disability attend school• Only 35.5% of children under 5 years attend day care

in the high income bracket 100% of the children under 5 have access to day care

• Poverty conditions are entangled with disability issues, creating a confusion of needs

• Extended families are the strongest means for support

Public Policy •There is a document on Public Policy . In 1991 the Constitution guarantee education as a social and human rights for all. Education Law 115 promotes inclusion . •Need of an integral policy around infancy, family and disability issues•Political commitment is needed.

Organization•Need for a structural organization that plans, coordinates and advocates on disability issues.•Civil society organizations must be able to represent and advocate for disability.•Need for strong and knowledgeable parent associations. Information •Statistics vary greatly depending on the source of the research. The DANE is promoting a home survey for families that have a member with disability that is spreading through the country.•Need accurate statistics on: Where people with disabilities live, What are the needs, What kind of support and Services are available etc.

Challenges to Achieving Inclusive Education

Service Provision•Services are low in numbers and in quality. Health and education are major issues.•Most services programs are offered by charities and NGO’s.

Prevention and Promotion •Currently no prevention programs in place •Need to invest in actions to decrease the incidence of preventable disabilities and the enabling effects of existing disabilities.

Accessibility•People with disability do not have access to the same services and opportunities as their peers without disability. Accessibility must be seen as equity and universality.

Family and Communities •Must receive the training and resources necessary to support their family members with disabilities and to be able to be involved in advocacy.

Challenges to Achieving Inclusive Education

Inclusive Education Requirements

To achieve Inclusive Education, additional research is required on the following issues:

• The nature, scope and inclusivity of methods/practices concerning the identification of need for special education services, placement options, education and on-going assessment, monitoring and

evaluation of children identified with special needs;

• The nature, scope and inclusivity of special educational practices, including individualized program planning, curriculum modifications, inclusion of special needs children with their age peers, the

treatment of students with disabilities in relation to standardized testing, assessments and evaluations;

• The nature, scope and inclusivity of the provision of, access to and payment for disability supports and services;

Inclusive Education Requirements

To achieve Inclusive Education, additional research is required on the following issues:

• The nature, scope and inclusivity of teacher training and professional development in the area of special/inclusive education for classroom and specialist

teachers; recruitment, hiring and retention of knowledgeable, experienced, classroom and support/resource teachers.

• The nature, scope and inclusivity of student/parent participation in educational decision-making, evaluation, assessment, planning processes.

“All the children of the world , with their strengths and individual needs, with their hopes and expectations, Have the right to an education. That is why, the educational system of a country Is the one that has to adjust to satisfy the needs of all their children".

- B. Lindqvist, UN-Rapporteur, 1994

"Unless disabled people are brought into the development mainstream, it will be impossible to cut poverty in half by 2015 or to give every girl and boy a chance to achieve a primary education by the same date.”

- James D. Wolfensohn, World Bank President

Quotes on Inclusion

The Beauty of Colombia